A baseball team will generally carry with it to the baseball diamond at least four or more bats and half a dozen or more baseballs. A variety of bats is required due to differing preferences of the players, and multiple balls are needed for warm-up purposes. Typically the bats and balls are carried loosely in a duffle bag. A player who wishes to use a particular bat will rummage through the duffle bag to find it. During the game the bats will be leaned against the backstop between uses. At the end of the game the bats and balls are gathered and returned to the duffle bag. Bats and particularly balls are difficult to locate during the game and are easily misplaced in this way. Also, the bats will bang against one another when carried in the duffle bag, which can cause damage or metal fatigue in bats made of metal or synthetic materials.
Various carrying cases have been devised for baseball bats. For example, U.S. Pat. No. 4,890,731 issued Jan. 2, 1990 to Mroz discloses a rigid case for carrying three or six bats. In one embodiment the bats are secured in the case only when it is closed. In another embodiment, the bats are loaded from either side of the case and secured by straps. In either embodiment, the case cannot serve as a bat rack from which bats can be selected and replaced during a game.
U.S. Pat. No. 2,889,863 issued Jun. 9, 1959 to Lois discloses a combined bat rack and carrier which is formed of a long flexible sheet with a number of pockets to receive the bats. Grommets are provided in the flexible material to permit the sheet to be hung up. To carry the bats, the sheet is folded up to retain the bats within the folded sheet. This device lacks the advantages of a solid case which does not require folding, and is not equipped to store balls.
There is therefore a need for a bat carrying case which has the advantages and convenience of a solid case and also functions as a bat rack which can be suspended from the backstop, and also serves to store and dispense balls.